Program Guidelines

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The Philosophy and Literature Program offers an interdisciplinary course of study on the graduate level leading to the Ph.D. degree. The program encourages the interplay between philosophy and literature in such areas as social and critical theory, feminism, hermeneutics, narrative, semiotics, psychoanalysis, aesthetics, African-American studies, and cultural studies. In consultation with faculty, each student designs a plan of study to accommodate his or her specific goals and interests. The program seeks to foster critical and independent thought while providing cohesive professional training.

Applications and Information:

Department of Philosophy
Purdue University
Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education
100 North University Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098
Telephone: (765) 494-4285
Fax: (765) 496-1616
wmcbride@purdue.edu

Department of English
Purdue University
Heavilon Hall
500 Oval Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038
Telephone: (765) 496-2805
Fax: (765) 494-3780
friedman@purdue.edu

 

A master's degree in either English, Philosophy or Foreign Languages (a relevant foreign language) is a prerequisite. Applicants should have taken the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE).

The first round of admissions and funding will begin after January 10. The Graduate School at Purdue accepts only electronic applications. Candidates should apply on-line at https://app.applyyourself.com/AYApplicantLogin/ApplicantConnectLogin.asp?id=purduegrad%A0and be sure to select a home department (either Philosophy, English or Languages & Cultures). Students who seek to enter the program must be admitted by the admission committee of the Philosophy and Literature Ph.D. program; each student is admitted with a Home Department designation (Philosophy, English or SLC). Candidates should realize that the time required to earn a doctoral degree in literature and philosophy may exceed that normally required to obtain a traditional literature or philosophy degree.

You have the choice to be considered for more than one program. If your first choice is Philosophy and Literature, then select under "Select Your Proposed Graduate Major" [Philosophy & Literature].

If your second choice is the department of Philosophy then select under "Enter Second Program of Interest Choice" [Philosophy] (At this prompt, please identify either Philosophy, English or Languages & Cultures) according to the area of your M.A. degree.

Select an Area of Interest. Available for selected programs only. Not all areas of interest are available for both Master's and Ph.D. degrees. At the drop-down box, enter either Philosophy, English or SLC)

Cost and Financial Support
For information on tuition and fees, see The Graduate School Policies & Procedures Manual. Financial support is available in the following forms: University Fellowships - one- and two-year stipend (depending on fellowship) and remission of tuition and most fees. Graduate Assistantships - stipend, remission of tuition and most fees, renewable with merit raises (teaching assistantships are also available in the Departments of English, Languages & Cultures or Philosophy). Interdisciplinary Lynn Fellowships may be available to qualified incoming students - one year stipend and remission of tuition and most fees for the first year Ph.D. students at Purdue followed by three years of guaranteed teaching assistant support.

Doctoral Program in Philosophy and Literature

I. Purpose

The purpose is to offer an interdisciplinary program on the graduate level leading to the Ph.D. degree. Currently, there are many areas of humanistic inquiry that rely on contribution from literature and philosophy. Such is notably the case, for instance, in aesthetics, Afro-American Studies, literary criticism, hermeneutics, theory of language, linguistics, psychoanalysis, semiotics, value theory, and women's studies.

II. Admission

Students who seek to enter the program must be admitted by the admission committee of the Philosophy and Literature Ph.D. program; each student is admitted with a Home Department designation (Philosophy, English or SLC). Candidates should realize that the time required to earn a doctoral degree in literature and philosophy may exceed that normally required to obtain a traditional literature or philosophy degree.

III. Course Requirements

A master's degree in Philosophy, English or Foreign Languages (a relevant foreign language) is a prerequisite. Applicants should have taken the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Doctoral students must complete with a grade of B or better five graduate courses in English or SLC and five graduate courses in Philosophy. Each student has one Home Department (Philosophy, English or SLC), normally based on a student's master's degree, and one correlative department for their concentration (Philosophy/English or Philosophy/SLC). Students may choose from more than 100 graduate courses in the departments of English, SLC, and Philosophy, and also arrange to take courses in other departments and programs. The sole required additional course is Philosophy/English/FLL 576, Philosophy and Literary Theory. Course choices are otherwise left free so that each student may follow his or her own interests, while also constructing a coherent program. In addition, there is a requirement of competence in at least one foreign language, which can be satisfied by course work or exam.

In general, for all Philosophy and Literature Ph.D. students special competence is required in at least three areas:

  1. a traditional field of the chosen literature or language (e.g., English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese or by permission, a classical literature or language such as ancient Greco-Roman literature or languages)
  2. a traditional field of Philosophy
  3. a special field combining the chosen literary or language focus and Philosophy

All Philosophy and Literature Ph.D. students are required to take:

  • a total of eleven graduate courses. Of these, one must be Philosophy/English/FLL 576
  • three area examinations:
  1. Preliminary Examination in Philosophy*
  2. Preliminary Examination in Literature (either English or SLC)**
  3. Prospectus Examination (dissertation examination) in a combined field of the dissertation***
  4. One foreign language requirement****

*Areas in Philosophy are (a) History of Philosophy, (b) Logic, Philosophy of Language or Science, (c) Value Theory (aesthetics, social and political philosophy, ethics), (d) Metaphysics and Epistemology; the examination is on one of these areas; the Preliminary Examination committee is approved by the Philosophy and Literature Director, students define the examination area and recommend a reading list in consultation with their committee members.

**The English Preliminary Examination, (the twenty-four hour examination) is required for students with home departments of Philosophy or English; the Preliminary Examination committee is approved by the Philosophy and Literature Director; the committee is composed of at least two members of the Department of English and a third from the department or a faculty member from either the Philosophy or SLC faculty; students recommend an exam area and a reading list in consultation with their committee members.

**SLC has 3 Ph.D. granting programs: Spanish, French and German; within these programs students can also specialize in Portuguese and Francophonie; the Preliminary Examination committee is approved by the Philosophy and Literature Director; students recommend an exam area and a reading list in consultation with their committee members.

***The dissertation examination is under the direction of a student's major professor; the dissertation is on a combined field, e.g., contemporary continental philosophy and French literature, aesthetics and Greek literature, medieval philosophy and medieval literature, etc.

****The foreign language requirement is satisfied by following the foreign language guidelines that govern a student's home department.

Students can apply as many as three Directed Reading courses toward requirements so long as each in housed in a different program department and focused on different subjects, specifically, PHIL 59000, ENGL 59000, FLL 59000. Students can apply only one graduate course from a concurrent outside program toward their requirements and in all such cases the course must be approved by the program director prior to acceptance as a course satisfying a requirement.

 

IV. Plan of Study

Upon entering the program, the student should consult with the co-directors of the program, who will assist in forming a plan of study. As soon as possible, the student should, in consultation with the co-directors, select an advisory committee appropriate to the student's interests and goals. The advisory committee shall consist of three faculty members, who will guide the student in choosing courses, pursuing directed reading, preparing for doctoral exams, meeting program requirements, and completing a dissertation. With the consent of the co-directors, changes in the membership of the advisory committee can be made to reflect the student's changing interests.
Areas in English
(1) Old English Language and Literature
(2) Middle English Language and Literature
(3) Sixteenth-Century British Literature
(4) British Renaissance Literature 1600-1660
(5) Classical Period of British Literature
(6) British Romantic and Victorian Literature
(7) Modern British Literature (1880 to the present)
(8) American Literature to 1865
(9) American Literature after 1865
(10) Literary Theory and Criticism

Areas in Philosophy
(1) History of Philosophy
Competence is required in two of three periods:
(a) Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
(b) From Renaissance Philosophy to Kant
(c) From Kant to Early Twentieth-Century Philosophy
(2) Logic, Language, and Science
Competence is required either in logic or in a combined area consisting of logic plus induction and philosophy of science or logic plus philosophy of logic and language.
(3) Value Theory
Competence is required either in ethics or in a combined area of ethics and some approved sub-area of value theory (such as aesthetics or political philosophy)
** Students in the joint program have a special option of taking the Value Theory Area Examination without ethics, in political philosophy and aesthetics, provided that they have taken one course in ethical theory - either PHIL 524 or PHIL 624.
(4) Metaphysics and Epistemology

Appendices A and B offer lists of courses in English and Philosophy, respectively, which are coordinated with traditional areas.


Appendix A

English courses coordinated with Traditional Areas of Literary Study

(1) Old English Language and Literature: 523, 524
(2) Middle English Language and Literature: 525, 526, 541
(3) Sixteenth-Century British Literature: 533, 537, 542, 543
(4) British Renaissance Literature 1600-1660: 534, 537, 542, 543, 544
(5) Classical Period of British Literature: 531, 535, 536, 538
(6) British Romantic and Victorian Literature: 532, 538, 547, 548, 549
(7) Modern British Literature (1880 to the present): 549, 572, 577, 579, 593, 594
(8) American Literature to 1865: 553, 554, 556, 558
(9) American Literature after 1865: 559, 575, 577, 578, 594, 595
(10) Literary Theory and Criticism: 567, 568, 569, 573

For further detailed information, consult the Department of English's Manual for Graduate Study. (Note that 600-level seminars are offered regularly.)

Appendix B

Courses coordinated with Traditional areas of Philosophy

The following list indicates the traditional area(s) with which each philosophy course is normally associated.

450: Symbolic Logic (Logic)
501: Studies in Greek Philosophy (History)
502: Studies in Medieval Philosophy (History)
503: Studies in Early Modern Philosophy (History)
506: Advanced Philosophy of Religion (Metaphysics and Epistemology)
507: Recent American Philosophy (History; Metaphysics and Epistemology)
510: Phenomenology (History; Metaphysics and Epistemology)
514: 20th Century Analytic Philosophy I (History, Metaphysics and Epistemology; Philosophy of Language)
515: 20th Century Analytic Philosophy II (History; Metaphysics and Epistemology)
520: Existentialism (History; Value Theory)
524: Contemporary Ethical Theory (Ethics)
525: Studies in Metaphysics (Metaphysics)
530: Deconstructionist and Postmodernist Philosophy (Value Theory)
532: Studies in Theory of Knowledge (Epistemology)
535: Studies in Philosophy of Mind (Metaphysics)
540: Studies in Social and Political Philosophy (Value Theory)
542: Rationally and Relativism (Variable: consult advisory committee)
545: Recent Analytic Philosophy (Variable: consult advisory committee)
550: Advanced Symbolic Logic (Logic)
551: Philosophy of the Natural Sciences (Philosophy of Science)
552: Philosophy of the Social Sciences (Philosophy of Science)
555: Critical Theory (Variable: consult advisory committee)
557: Medieval Political Thought and Philosophy (History; Value Theory)
560: Studies in Eastern Philosophy (Variable: consult advisory committee)
575: Problems in Aesthetics (Value Theory)
576: Philosophy and Literature (Value Theory)*
610: Seminar in Recent Continental Philosophy (Variable: consult advisory committee)
624: Seminar in Ethics (Ethics)
650: Advanced Topics in Logic (Logic)
665: Philosophy of Language (Philosophy of Language)
672: Philosophy of Logic (Logic)
683: Studies in Continental Rationalism (History)
684: Studies in British Empiricism (History)
685: The Philosophy of Kant (History)

*PHIL 576/FLL/ENGL 576: the course required for the joint program students (list on your plan of study either as PHIL 576, FLL 576 or ENGL 576).

For further detailed information, consult the Philosophy Department's guide titled Graduate Study in Philosophy.

Appendix C

Courses coordinated with traditional areas of Languages & Cultures are defined by each language area. Consult the School of Languages and Cultures manual to consider available course options in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese or by permission, a classical literature or language such as ancient Greco-Roman literature or languages.

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